There are numerous improvised explosive training devices designed to replicate actual Improvised Explosive Devices (IED). The training devices are similar to real LEDs in appearance and are designed to be activated in the same manner as a real IED. Once activated, a loud rapport is created by using either a pyrotechnic, electrical or compressed gas system. This rapport is designed to simulate the noise of an explosion. This creates a realistic stimulus to assist training students to defend against IED attacks.
Obviously, the environment that real LED's will be encountered are typically war zones or extreme high risk situations for law enforcement, such as active shooter events. As a result, IED's are almost exclusively found in arenas where the intended targets are soldiers or law enforcement officers who are armed with firearms. Trainers have recognized the importance of replicating the acute stress environment of combat in training.
“Research has shown that, for some tasks, normal training procedures (training conducted under normal, non-stress conditions) often do not improve task performance when the task was to be performed under stress conditions (Zakay & Wooler, 1984) These results suggest that, under certain conditions, the transfer of training from classroom conditions to operational conditions may be poor when there are no stress-inclusive simulations or training.”—Cannon, J. A. & Salas, E. (1998). Making Decisions Under Stress. In Driskell, James E. & Johnston, Joan H. Stress Exposure Training (pp. 193) Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. This understanding has led to the development of several “force on force” training products that create a pain penalty to the student to create stress during training. Unfortunately, the training IED's being utilized in training do not create a pain penalty and as a result, does not create the level of stress required for adequate training.